Five sacred sisters (friends and study partners from Interfaith Seminary), a quiet cabin outside of Woodstock, NY, a weekend of spiritual support, friendship, good food and relaxation. Sounds ideal, right?

So why did we all want to run from it?!

At one point or another we all had the thought that ….

• We didn’t have time for it in our busy lives (one, in fact, did not attend for that reason– it was originally going to be six sacred sisters)… all of our weekends were packed.
• We weren’t sure what it would be like to see each other again after 6 months of not much contact.
• We weren’t practicing our spiritual practices spiritually enough.
• We could accomplish more by being home – or somewhere else.

Then there were the last minute jitters…

• The first one there later confessed (this is all based on confessions that came the second day we were together) that she couldn’t find the key to the house and began calculating what time she could be back home if she left immediately.
• We had no cell phone service in much of the area, the roads were poorly, if at all, marked – things we all considered using as some part of our excuse why we ended up back at home that same night.

So we arrived, masked our nerves, and decided as a group to get the hell out of there – and go out to dinner; which is actually not like us but perhaps it satisfied the urge to GO somewhere.

We went to a lovely restaurant. We prayed before our dinner. We began to settle in. Back at the house we had opening prayers and offerings. Then beleaguered travelers got tired and went to bed.

The rest of the weekend was on track – yoga in the morning, breakfast, council in circle, energy healing, sharing, walking, Tarot card readings, more yoga, Shamanic journeying, music, dancing, food, more sharing, and more food.

We laughed before leaving at our reticence to come together, to make the time, to put in the effort, to pay the money…

One Sister said it succinctly when talking about the feelings and thoughts that we “can’t” make it to the retreat:

“… I have to remember that it is the Medicine.”

It’s the anti-venom for our overbooked lives. It’s the salve for nerves and anxiety. It’s the cure for self-doubt and thoughts of unworthiness. It’s the simple act of women gathering.

(As an aside, I’m sure there is a masculine counterpart to this. A male friend of mine said that after launching Moon Circle , I ought to start “Dude Circle”. Who wants to lead, Guys?)

I left feeling encouraged, held, lifted up, relaxed, ready and revitalized.

Women gathering in circle. I’ve experienced it my whole life  – from dance companies, to the original Moon Circle, to my Sacred Sisters, to work in a healing practice of women.

Powerful.   Practical.   Medicine.